There is no amount of alcohol that is good for health. That is a change from what was said twenty years ago, and it comes from better studies. What follows is how to reduce harm if you drink, and where the lines are that matter most.
What it does
- Raises blood pressure directly, and is a significant cause of stroke.
- Damages the liver, from fatty liver to cirrhosis.
- Causes cancer of the mouth, throat, gullet, liver, bowel and breast. This is established and is not dose-free.
- Interacts with many medicines, including some used for diabetes, blood pressure and TB.
- Is a major factor in road deaths, injuries, drowning and violence.
- Disturbs sleep, and worsens anxiety and low mood over time, even though it feels like relief in the moment.
Where there is no safe amount at all
- In pregnancy, or trying to conceive. Alcohol crosses to the baby and causes permanent damage to the brain and growth. No amount and no stage is established as safe.
- Before driving or riding a moto.
- Before operating machinery, or working at height.
- With liver disease, pancreatitis, or on medicines that react with it.
- Under 18.
Reducing the harm if you drink
- Have several alcohol-free days a week.
- Never drink to get drunk. Heavy sessions do the most damage and cause the most accidents.
- Eat before and while drinking, and alternate with water.
- Know what is in it. Locally distilled spirits vary enormously in strength, and some have been found adulterated with methanol, which blinds and kills.
- Do not drive, ride, swim or work after drinking.
Signs it has become a problem
- Needing more for the same effect.
- Drinking in the morning, or to steady yourself.
- Trying to cut down and not managing.
- Missing work, or money going on drink before food.
- Family or friends raising it with you.
- Shaking, sweating or feeling sick when you have not had a drink.
If several of those are true, talk to a clinician. Help exists and works. Heavy daily drinking should not be stopped abruptly without advice: withdrawal can cause fits and is occasionally fatal. That is a reason to get help stopping, not a reason to keep drinking.
Go to a facility immediately for
- Someone who cannot be woken after drinking, or whose breathing is slow or irregular.
- Vomiting blood, or black tarry stool.
- Yellow eyes or skin, or a swollen painful abdomen.
- Confusion, a fit, or severe shaking during withdrawal.
- Blurred vision or blindness after drinking local spirits. That is possible methanol poisoning and it is a same-hour emergency.
